The father could not rest while he waited to hear from his daughter. The neighbors wrote down what he last heard from her and asked the shelter for news. They sat with him until they received a confirmed update. Even when we don't know what will happen, we can wait with someone.
A modern interpretation for this story
A question to take with you
What could I do alongside someone waiting for worrying news, if they wanted me there?
Share the question together with a link to this story.
About the source and this adaptation
Jerusalem Talmud Demai 1:3:13 and Shekalim 5:1:13 tell of a man who dug wells and water channels for travelers. His daughter is swept away by a river. People come to comfort him, and Rabbi Phinehas ben Yair speaks hopefully of the father's service to his Creator through water. When she returns, one account says she was caught in a thorn hedge. Another says an angel in Phinehas's likeness rescued her. In the Babylonian parallels, Bava Kamma 50a:19–22 and Yevamot 121b:6–8, the daughter falls into a large cistern, and a ram and an old man appear. Those accounts go on to say a son died of thirst. The wisdom line paraphrases the Jerusalem scene of people coming to comfort the father. The water station, heavy rain, waiting neighbors and daughter returning from a shelter are modern fiction created with AI assistance.
